New Weber Smokefire wood pellet grills

[DJDDay]

Had your friend had any issues? What's his experience after owning it?

He said his SmokeFire EX4 (gen 2) suffers from large temperature swings, especially at high temps. Also, the little ash pan opening at the bottom that's supposed to keep your firepot cleaned out doesn't work well - there's a ton of ash that blows around (like an insane amount). The exterior (and interior) of the SmokeFire seems to always be coated in a lot of ash. The door leaks smoke bad, but that seems to be an issue with the Traeger Pro line as well. Two out of his 3 meat probes failed - they don't seem the be the best quality. He bought replacements on Amazon, though. He likes the app, and he says startup (getting to peak temp) is super fast. He doesn't like the pellet hopper in the rear; it makes filling it very awkward and he feels it is a design blunder. Looks good, but not practical. Handle is too shallow on the lid (easy to burn your wrist when it's lifted).

 

[RustyJake]

Temperature swings can be programmed on purpose. That is how the pellet grill creates it's smoke. There is some smoke made from maintaining temps, but the majority of smoke is created by fluctuations in the pellet feeds that result in temperature swings.
We are all focused on getting a consistent temperature with little deviation, but that may come at the expense of smoke.
Look at Lone Star Grills for example, probably one of the highest output of smoke in a pellet grill, and it has wild temperature swings while maintaining the constant average over the duration of the cook. There are some videos that show the Fireboard logs and they show temp swings of 30°F. But it produces smoke at pretty much every temperature.

Maybe we need to look at the longer temperature averages over a cook as opposed to looking at a steady temperature as a indication of a good pellet grill. Just my humble opinion on that aspect.
Weber has some good features, I really think they will continue to improve.

 

[miguelb]

He said his SmokeFire EX4 (gen 2) suffers from large temperature swings, especially at high temps. Also, the little ash pan opening at the bottom that's supposed to keep your firepot cleaned out doesn't work well - there's a ton of ash that blows around (like an insane amount). The exterior (and interior) of the SmokeFire seems to always be coated in a lot of ash. The door leaks smoke bad, but that seems to be an issue with the Traeger Pro line as well. Two out of his 3 meat probes failed - they don't seem the be the best quality. He bought replacements on Amazon, though. He likes the app, and he says startup (getting to peak temp) is super fast. He doesn't like the pellet hopper in the rear; it makes filling it very awkward and he feels it is a design blunder. Looks good, but not practical. Handle is too shallow on the lid (easy to burn your wrist when it's lifted).

Thanks for the information. From your perspective or your friend, do you consider many of these issues - user error or design fault?

I agree @RustyJake on the temp spike to get better smoke.

 

[DJDDay]

Thanks for the information. From your perspective or your friend, do you consider many of these issues - user error or design fault?

I agree @RustyJake on the temp spike to get better smoke.

They're 100% design fault. He's not new to smoking or pellet grills at all (his first was a Traeger)! I do agree that the temp swings may be by design to coax more smoke. He may not have been prepared for that since his first experience was with an older Traeger that didn't experience temp swings as great as he's seeing on his EX4.

 

[miguelb]

They're 100% design fault. He's not new to smoking or pellet grills at all (his first was a Traeger)! I do agree that the temp swings may be by design to coax more smoke. He may not have been prepared for that since his first experience was with an older Traeger that didn't experience temp swings as great as he's seeing on his EX4.

That was my assumption as well. There is another thread talking about this. A actually had similar problems and one of the commenters seems to blame the user more. I don't own one nor tried one but I do agree with your/friends experience.

 

[JPSBBQ]

The Smokefire is a beast. A truly unique product that puts out next level BBQ and grills like a high end gas grill. It outperforms products like Memphis IMO at 1/5th the cost. Like I’ve said before, I own 5 Traegers currently and have had several others over the years and they are steady and reliable pellet smokers. The Weber is a whole other beast and probably isn’t for everyone, but it’s far and away the most versatile and impressive product on the market. They had plenty of software issue in the first six months and received plenty of well deserved criticism. I’m assuming some people were sacked over the premature and I’ll advised launch. Since the corrections, the thing is very reliable. Just note, there are always potential issues. Just search this forum board if you want proof. I’m here to testify that the things people generally complain about are self Inflicted from lack of insight or just a perceived potential issue which isn’t really an issue. That’s my opinion. It’s based upon a decade or more of pellet cooking experience and at least a half dozen brands. Not every cooker is for every cook though. Watch the YouTube video by the mad scientist bbq about these cookers. Everything the guy with Jeremy Yoder says on there is accurate and true. That guy has access to about every product on the market. He cooks on a Weber Smokefire at his house. Daily. Just saying.

 

[Clint62]

I wanted a Rectec but being north of the USA boarder makes it quite a bit more money to get myself one, so it would be been comparable to buying a Yoder locally or driving across the boarder to pick up a Rectec. I didnt wannt spend either amounts of money. I love my Ironwood 885, haven't had an issue yet with it including the software the knocked everyone else's out... mine seems to be one of the lucky few that made it out alive. If I had the choice, I would have went GMG(cost savings of $800) if this didnt workout or wait it out and get the new Smokefire, it looks badass with lots of different engineered aspects.

My sister gave me her older rec tec rt300. I was gonna sell it because I also have a 575...but...I'm using it almost as much as the traeger

 

[61loub]

I think Traeger is junk. Build on a tradition that at one time was a great product. Next door neighbor has a smokefire ex4 gen 2 been very happy, great look as well. I will never own another Traeger my cheap pit boss was much better. Had a pro 22 sold it, bought a new tito's promo grill listed on Facebook for free!

 

[Shedd]

A friend of a friend has the new smokfire Webber and I’m going to check it out in a couple weeks. My friend claims it’s better than his Ironwood.

Just curious did you buy the new Tito’s or get it free?

 

[primeone]

I think Traeger is junk. Build on a tradition that at one time was a great product. Next door neighbor has a smokefire ex4 gen 2 been very happy, great look as well. I will never own another Traeger my cheap pit boss was much better. Had a pro 22 sold it, bought a new tito's promo grill listed on Facebook for free!

I love me some Tito's!

 

[RustyJake]

Weber makes good grills. @JPSBBQ has one I believe and probably has some info on what works well on them

 

[JPSBBQ]

The Smokefire is a unique pellet cooker it produces the best smoke profile of any pellet grill I’ve used and I’ve used at least a handful of brands. It also grills unlike any other especially in its price range. Some of the components will wear out over heavy use in a few years but they are pretty liberal with sending out replacements. I mean like the main deflector over the pot and the thinner metal pieces that hold up the flavorizor bars. They just take a beating if you use the thing 3-5 times a week and grill at high temps. It gets to 600 but you rarely have to go there because the heat is pretty much direct and very radiant. There is no solid pan funneling the most intense heat to the edges. If I had to choose one pellet cooker it’d be that one, hands down.

I wholeheartedly disagree with the statement about Traeger cookers however. They are well built and their interface and app are world class. It sounds like so many others who have purchased 5 -10 year old technology because it’s inexpensive and then complain about it. The new technology stuff is great and they are built as good or better than others in their class. There are a few exceptions like Yoder and some of the smaller brands in Texas, but they aren’t available in the mass quantities that Traeger produces and sells. These things are not intended to last forever like a 1/4” steel offset with a 1/2” firebox. The tech moves too fast. 5-10 years is probably the intended window. Not to say they cannot last much longer but something way better will be on the market every 5 years if not sooner. Also, every manufacturer has similar problems with pellet cookers. You hear about the Traeger ones more because they outsell all the others by a wide margin and they are the most recognizable brand. Traeger is “Kleenex” and all others are facial tissue in the pellet cooker arena.

 

[JPSBBQ]

And, doesn’t Traeger make the Tito’s cookers?

 

[DJDDay]

I think Traeger is junk. Build on a tradition that at one time was a great product. Next door neighbor has a smokefire ex4 gen 2 been very happy, great look as well. I will never own another Traeger my cheap pit boss was much better. Had a pro 22 sold it, bought a new tito's promo grill listed on Facebook for free

LMAO... not sure why you're here then. And as far as Weber's Smokefire, THEY ARE JUNK AS WELL. My buddy's barely 2 year old Smokefire had the entire firebox and chute rust out, and it's stored under a Weber cover when not in use. Absolute garbage.

Here's a barely 2 year old Weber Smokefire that has been properly stored:

 

[CMTiger]

LMAO... not sure why you're here then. And as far as Weber's Smokefire, THEY ARE JUNK AS WELL. My buddy's barely 2 year old Smokefire had the entire firebox and chute rust out, and it's stored under a Weber cover when not in use. Absolute garbage.

Here's a barely 2 year old Weber Smokefire that has been properly stored:

View attachment 21864

View attachment 21865

Some folks join and stick around here only to talk about how awful their experience with Traeger was…..nothing else. They’ll tell us how great their current smoker is, but they don’t share anything about it. It’s bizarre to me.